April 9-10: hello Chile!

It was time to leave Malargüe — locals were warning me that the border might be closed in case of snow, and the near-constant lowland drizzle had already started taking a toll on our mood anyway. Thankfully the weather improved markedly as we approached the Las Loicas-Paso Pehuenche border crossing between Argentina and Chile.

It was such a relief to cross our “last” South American border without having to worry about corrupt officers or long waits. All went smoothly on the Argentinean side, and although the Chileans spent twenty minutes turning la bestia‘s contents upside down (and ending up confiscating my Trader Joe’s raisins!), we still parted ways as friends.

Lake Maule–right after the border on the Chilean side–is one stunning place. Half lunar, half Alaskan… I very much hope to return one day for a kayak trip.

I actually enjoyed Lago de Maule’s serenity more than hyped-up and overly touristic Lago Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia.

I wish Harry and I could have gone for a swim, but the water–at almost 3,000m–seemed way too cold for that.

I opted to take a quick photo instead — but failed to center the camera appropriately.

We continued driving on April 9 until we reached Talca, one of Chile’s main urban centers south of Santiago. Thanks to iOverlander we found an almost-free (US$1.50) spot for the night that also came with a nice view.